Cruel Twist of Fate
by Kinne340
Summary: Feeling exhausted by the whole event he reached in to his pocket only to pull out a soaked pack of cigarettes. He let out another sigh and went searching for another pack Once the cigarette was lit he flopped on to a chair and pulled out his DS. MattXoc
1. On through the rain

_Kinne340: decided to write this because I don't see much of Matt being paired with an original character, at least not with out a love triangle or something going on so this popped in to my head and I had to write it. Please enjoy. _

The rain poured onto everything. The buildings, sidewalks, streets, cars, umbrellas, and one girl who was soaked to the bone running through the downpour. Her breath came in short gasps as she continued to move forward, to move away.

There was a brilliant bruise spreading on the side of her face and another one blooming on her throat. Blood stained the white tee-shirt she wore, making the wound look even more morbid that it actually was. The drip of red down her side was being washed away by the thick rain.

Everything was sticking to the girl. Especially her cloths and her long hair which were both so drenched that they weighed her down as she tried to keep moving. None of the people passing by on the street seemed to notice her frantic flight. They all pretended not to notice the spreading red stain on the once perfectly white shirt.

Her sides were aching and screaming at her to stop. She had no idea how she was even still running. Then the world started to spin around her as she grew dizzy, either from the lack of oxygen or the loss of blood.

She tried to keep going and lost her footing on the edge of a curb. The world continued to spin as she fell in to the path of an oncoming car which thankfully came to a screeching halt.

The driver of the car rolled down his window and started to scream insults at the crazy teenager, probably drunk he thought, that he had almost killed. She paid no attention to him though as she felt her way back to the sidewalk and forced herself to get back up and keep going.

Her pace was much slower now but she had to keep moving. She had to put as much distance between them as possible. Her breathing was more labored as ever and now she seemed to have twisted something when she fell off the curb. But she kept limping along awkwardly as she favored the injured ankle.

Her next stumble sent her tumbling in to an alley way face first. She groaned as she felt the last of her strength leave her. The girl attempted to get up but all she managed was to roll over slightly.

A loud gasp then escaped her lips as she looked up. A figure loomed over her. Her vision was so blurred that she couldn't make out any of the details at all. However unlike every other person on the street, this figure was paying attention to her.

She didn't like that at all. Her arms shook violently as she tried to move away. Her vision only grew more blurred as she collapsed fully on to the cold wet ground. She shut her eyes and let herself sink in to the darkness.

"I should have just stayed in tonight." He grumbled to himself as he carried the girl through the alleys. He was heading back to his apartment, though what he should have been doing was going straight to a hospital and dropping her off so he would be done with it.

He couldn't help but feel that he wouldn't be doing the girl any favors. Why should it matter? He wasn't quite sure. He could blame his intuition or maybe just put the blame on the games.

Well there was nothing he could do about it now. He struggled to get the key out of his pocket with the girl in her arms. Not like he was weak but he wasn't the strongest person either so it was a bit tricky.

He tried to be gentle when he dumped her on to his couch. Going back he closed the door again then turned and took a look at her. He ran his hands through sopping wet red hair to get it out of his face as he thought.

First thing to do was get the wet cloths off of her before she got sick or something. Not that getting sick was a big priority at the moment considering how much red was on that shirt. He also had to get the cloths off to treat the wounds though. He thought that it was really a shame he wasn't a doctor, but at least he could do well enough to keep her alive.

Stripping off the cloths was difficult. Not only were they stuck to her freezing cold skin, but the side of the shirt was caked in dried blood. When he finally did manage to get it off the cut started to bleed again.

He cursed lightly and went to get the supplies he needed out of his bathroom. Luckily he had enough knowledge that it didn't take to long to get her all bandaged up. He let out a sigh and once again ran a hand through still wet red hair.

As he stared he realized something. She was naked… Not that this was particularly a problem for him but she would probably freak out waking up with no cloths on.

He looked at her. She was pretty tiny looking for someone around her age. One of his shirts should fit and cover enough for the time being. With that decided he went off and chose a stripped shirt to slide over her bare body.

After several futile tries he managed to get her arms in to the sleeves and then pull the shirt as far down as it could go.

He was satisfied that she was covered enough since the shirt covered everything that should be covered. He really didn't need anyone trying to charge him with sexual assault.

Feeling exhausted by the whole event he reached in to his pocket only to pull out a soaked pack of cigarettes. He let out another sigh and went searching for another pack Once the cigarette was lit he flopped on to a chair and pulled out his DS.

_Kinne340: This is the first fanfic I have actually ever uploaded so please go easy on me. I am very open to criticism but I would appreciate it if no one was overly hurtful or rude with their words. _


	2. What's in a name?

Awareness was slowly coming back to her. Her eyes didn't feel like opening yet but she could feel and what she felt confused her greatly. The surface underneath her body was soft. It definitely wasn't concrete.

She shifted slightly and took a deep breath. The unmistakable smell of second hand smoke drifted in to her nose and burned at her throat. She tried to clear it but it was useless. The smell was permeating everything around her.

The next sense to come back was her hearing. There was a very strange noise coming from somewhere to the left of her head. It was a….. a … Beeping sound? She lay there for a little bit trying to identify the sound. There was music as well, so it was some kind of video game? Maybe?

She forced her eyes open with the realization that she wasn't alone. Once they were open she found herself starring at a crappy looking ceiling. Her head turned, the wall she was no facing didn't look any better. In fact both the ceiling and wall looked as though they were likely to fall in.

The next place she turned her head was in the direction of the sound. There sitting in a chair , was a man. He was playing a DS, Mario by the sound of the music. There was an ash tray completely full of cigarette stubs on the coffee table in front of him. He looked more than engrossed in his game, so she took the time to examine her,… Captor? Rescuer?

He was dressed in jeans, a striped shirt and a fuzzy vest, Goggles were set in his still damp red hair. She couldn't see his eyes though they were locked on the game. All together if the circumstances were different she probably would have found him hot, even if he was a game nerd.

She looked at the damp hair again and wondered how long she had actually been out consider she and he were both still wet. Then again that didn't necessarily mean anything. After all he might not have been the figure she had seen looming over her in the alley.

Done with thinking, she attempted to sit un and winced in pain. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. At the sharp pain that shot up her side. She worked her throat to contain it and felt pain there as well. She had completely forgotten about the bruise over her windpipe.

"Probably not the best idea." Came a voice from the chair.

She jumped. His eyes were still locked on the game. So was he talking to her or was he one of those people that talked to their games? As she stared at him he started to talk again.

"You should probably just stay still for a while. It wasn't to deep of a cut but it was a pretty big one." He said this as he continued to push the buttons. Apparently he was completely aware of his surroundings despite the attention he paid to the game.

She eyed him with an incredulous look in her eyes as the beeping and music continued. Was he really going to just sit there and play that game? Didn't it occur to him that maybe an explanation was needed?

She tried to sit up again and this time managed to at least prop herself up a little. Her damp hair fell in to her face and she moved to push it out of the way. What she saw made her jump again. The arm that came in to view was clad in a long striped shirt sleeve.

With wide eyes she looked down at herself. Her only cover at that moment was the striped shirt that went along with the sleeve that had startled her. Which was only barely enough to cover anything at all. It hardly came to her thighs! Her mouth fell open in horror.

"How?…..uh… you." she spluttered out as her face turned red.

"Well I could have left you in the blood soaked cloths but you probably would have gotten sick." His voice was nonchalant as he talked and he was still looking at that Damn game instead of to the person who was freaking out and had woken up in a matching shirt to the one he himself was wearing.

"…." Though he did have a point. But the thought of the fact that he had changed her cloths! She thought she could die right then and there. Regardless she couldn't get up and was therefore in no position to be making any demands. She didn't know whether or not this man was planning to harm her or not.

"What am I doing here?" This seemed like an obvious and non threatening question to ask. She was trying to get a foot hold here, something that would help her to not feel so confused, afraid, and vulnerable.

He still didn't so much as glance up at her from the game he was playing. "Well, you should be laying down, but it looks like your getting all worked up." Was the infuriating and sarcastic answer.

She threw a glare his way because of the smart remark. "Why am I supposed to be laying down? Where is here? And why did you bring me here?" There if that wasn't specific enough then she didn't know what would be. If he gave another sarcastic remark she was going to scream.

The music actually stopped. She guessed that he paused the game. Why hadn't he done that earlier? He looked up at her and for the first time she got a good look at his eyes. They were a shocking shade of green. There was a mischievous look there hidden behind the uninterested one he wore predominantly. She knew right then how extremely difficult it was going to be to get a straight answer.

"Well you were injured, This is my apartment and again you were injured." Was the reply. She glared again. Had he been frank this time just to throw her off? She turned the glare on him and his eyes flashed with some excitement. It was like he had been waiting for someone to argue with, or missed someone with whom he often argued.

"You find someone bleeding in the street and you bring them to your apartment?" Her tone was scathing. Apparently argument was the way to get the answers she wanted out of him as long as she stayed mad she was good she supposed.

"I got the feeling you wouldn't want to go to a hospital."

She fell silent. There was no answer to that because it was true. A hospital wouldn't have been a good thing for her. To many questions and to many possibilities of the wrong people getting called.

"Thank you." It was a small whisper and shortly after the music started up again.

She lay back down and looked at the worn out ceiling with out really seeing it. So what now? Was she just supposed to stay here until she was all better? Even if she did, what would she do after that? Really she had no where left to go now. Eighteen years old and she was homeless, great.

…...

It was sometime later. She may have fallen asleep again or she may not have. If she had slept then her thoughts had haunted her dreams as she tried in vain to figure out what was going on and what she was going to do. What could you do when you had no home?

"Hey uh….. I…. Need to use the bathroom." She felt herself flush in humiliation at not being able to go herself. A few moments went by with no response and then the music stopped again. She looked over and the two stared at each other for a moment. The DS was then set down and he heaved himself up with a sigh.

Gently he all but lifted her off the couch. She hardly had to do any of the work which shocked her. Really she wouldn't expect him to be that strong by looking at him. Not that she was heavy or anything.

As soon as her feet hit the ground and her weight was her own to carry, a pain shot through her side again. She cried out this time and almost fell before her game playing rescuer steadied her.

"You got it now?" He asked as he took more of her weight so that she was hardly putting any weight on the injured side.

She nodded and they started to move. She clung to him grateful that he was there to support her. That way there was only minor pain. They got to the bathroom. Thankfully it was small enough that she could use the sink as support to get to the toilet so he left her to it.

After taking care of that she used the sink again for support and looked in to the mirror hanging over it. Water rolled down her back and she shivered. It was great that this shirt had long sleeves or she would be freezing instead of just a tiny bit chilled. She sighed and gazed at her reflection starring back at her.

Her long brown hair was tangled an there were smudges of dirt on her face and neck. Not to mention the bruises, which were turning brilliant colors by now. There were tired bags under her grey eyes . No wonder she felt so horrible, she was a total mess. That guy out there probably thought she was pretty pitiful no wonder he was helping her.

A knock came at the door. "Hey you ok in there?" said his voice from the other side of the door. After all he had heard the toilet flush so she was done. It would suck if she hurt herself trying to get out of the bathroom. He'd barely stopped her from bleeding to death the first time.

"Yeah. Um I'm sorry." She was blushing again. She guessed that it made sense for him to be worried that she would have hurt herself but wouldn't she have made a noise if that was the case?

"I might need some help though." She admitted it grudgingly but it was the truth. She would never get back to the couch on her own. The door opened and there he was. Her very strange rescuer. She supposed that she was getting to used to calling him that in her head. But what else did she have to call him?

Once again he pulled her arm over his shoulder and supported her, this time going the opposite way. He picked her up when they got there and put her on the cushions. When she made contact she winced in pain once again.

"Sorry."

When she looked at the red head his hands were in his pockets and he was turned slightly away from her.

"I'm not really used to being gentle." He added as an explanation for his apology. It made her smile a little. He really was a nice guy wasn't he?

"It's ok." She said settled down and tried to lay down. It took a bit and she had to go slowly but she got there eventually. "Oh hey what's your name anyway?" She didn't really expect an answer with how he had been before but she wanted something to call him.

"Matt." Was the short answer. It took her by surprise she had almost expected him to refuse to answer or give her a riddle or just not talk around her question. Matt. Huh? For such an unusual guy he sure had an ordinary name. Now he was looking at her like he was expecting something and her brain scrambled trying to figure out what it was he wanted. When she finally figured it out she could have kicked herself, if not for the injury.

"Hannah."

He gave a nod and walked back to the chair. She watched Matt as he pulled the DS back out and flipped it open. The music started to play again and she listened to it with out really thinking or worrying to much. Soon it had lulled her in to a much needed sleep.

_Kinne340: hey sorry this took so long I will update sooner this time promise. Hope you all like it and that you keep reading regardless of how long it took to update this. Please let me know what you think about it!_


	3. Sentimentality

_**Kinne340: ok here it is already. Just a tiny little chapter to fill in while Hannah is asleep. It's in Matt's point of view so enjoy. **_

Matt fished the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket again. Once he had it lit he unpaused the game and went back to playing effortlessly. Mario was a good game to play when his mind was on other things. It didn't really involve too much strategy, so he could sit there and play, smoke, and think all at once.

Right now he was wondering what in the world he'd been thinking. What had possessed him to think that it was a good idea to drag a random girl to his apartment? She was seriously injured too. So he was either going to have to continue to take care of Hannah or he was going to have to take her to a hospital.

The second option was pretty much out of the question. The look in her eyes when she had thanked him for not doing just that was almost scary. She was afraid of something… Though what that could be he had no idea. But as damaged and pitiful as she looked, he still had no business trying to nurse a complete stranger back to health.

Damnit, he was supposed to be smarter than this. Was he really just that starved for human contact? It was true he had become somewhat of a shut in ever since Mello had left Wammy's house. He'd had his games to keep him entertained so he was ok….

But Matt was used to having more than that. He was used to sharing his room with a temperamental blond. Said blond, was usually ranting about homework, Near, the volume Matt played his games out, the amount of time Matt spent playing his games, Near, The other residents of Wammy's, and Near.

This shithole apartment was just too quiet. There was no angry back drop and no human voices in the room with him. And there was no one to drag him ion to their crazy schemes, no one to talk to period. So that was it then, he was lonely. He supposed that he was glad Hannah was dependent on him for now. It would at least temporarily get rid of the aloneness. The red head gave a chuckle. He really was a dog wasn't he? His master had abandoned him so he was so attention starved he was clinging to someone else.

His focus strayed a bit to much, Mario plummeted off a cliff and the level was over. Matt gave a sigh and shut the DS off. It was about time he got some work done anyway. First though he was going to get a drink. So he got up went to the kitchen and grabbed his last soda.

On the way back he gave his temporary charge what was supposed to be a glance but he found himself staring. She was an interesting girl. When he'd tried to coax and argument out of her just for the sake of argument, she had seen right through it. The gamer could see it in her eyes. She'd gone along with it any way though. It was obvious she knew that she would get what she wanted from him that way.

Not many people could understand Matt's actions that way. In fact he only knew of one or two and they were all geniuses. And when he'd picked her up…. She was so fragile feeling, he was almost afraid that he would hurt her. Not just physically either, but mentally as well she seemed likely to shatter at any moment.

Matt's eyes strayed to the bruises on her face and throat. It didn't take much effort to figure out they had come from another person. By the size of the bruise where that person had tried to throttle her, the person was obviously male. An abusive father, boy friend, attempted date rape?

He shook his head. Really he was already interfering enough. He should just stick to minding his own business. But, it made him sick to think of someone hurting this delicate little thing. It seemed almost the same as kicking a puppy or throwing a kitten in to a lake. She had those wide baby eyes that were filled with so much trust and mistrust at the same time. They were the kind of eyes that you would have to be heartless to raise a hand against. He had only ever seen one other pair of eyes that expressed so much joy and pain at the same time. Then again he didn't really pay attention to most peoples eyes.

He moved his goggles down over his own pair of green eyes, wondering when he'd become such a romantic.

_**Kinne340: Ok! Here it is. Hope you liked it. Just a little thing to get you all in side Matt's head. Poor confused guy. He misses Mello too. So please tell me what you think of it! **_


	4. Awkward beginning

Hannah cracked her eyes open a small space. The apartment was pretty dim so she had no problems adjusting to the light and opened them the rest of the way. Now the question was, how long had she been asleep?

"Hey, Thirsty?" Matt's head suddenly came in to view over the side of the couch. It wasn't until after his question that she realized her throat was so dry that it hurt. So she nodded and struggled to sit up. It was actually a rather trying task and she vowed to never take for granted again how smoothly things like this usually went when she wasn't half dead.

He chuckled, which made Hannah grumble. What was he in such a good mood for? However, she stifled her complaints when he helped her get in to a sitting position, since she couldn't manage it herself, and pushed a glass of water in her hand. As soon as he had done this she brought the glass to her lips, and tipped it. She drank it so fast it was a wonder that she didn't choke.

"Whoa slow down!" He was laughing again. "I've never seen someone try to drown themselves on dry land before." He joked as he pulled the cup back a little keeping her from choking on the last couple of inches as she drank them. She soon as she was done with the glass she flushed bright red.

"Shut up." She was glaring at him and he just smiled back. He had one of those laid back, easygoing kind of smiles. Obviously and easily he was brushing off her temper, which was mostly rearing its ugly head due to the fact that she had just woken up. She wasn't really a morning person. "I was thirsty." She blushed even more and looked down at her stripped clad lap which only made her feel more embarrassed. "Couldn't you have found something that covered more?"

"No. sorry to tell you this but I don't have a closet of women's cloths. Even if I did, wouldn't that just be creepy?" He was joking again. Well at least Matt seemed to have gotten over his argumentative mood.

"Oh I almost forgot." He disappeared in to the kitchen side of the room. When he came back he was holding two cups of instant ramen. "Hope you're not use to fancy stuff, this is what I live off of." He explained as he offered her one of the cups.

"I like ramen." Hannah accepted the cup and blew gently on the hot food. Matt moved to the same chair he had occupied when she had first woken up. As soon as he was sitting the red head began to inhale his food.

"Whoa slow down." She taunted back at him before starting on her own cup. He was done long before she had even reached the halfway point. His cup was set on the coffee table next to the ashtray. What surprised Hannah though was that he didn't turn on his DS. He did start tapping his fingers against it as she ate. The silence was unnerving though. At last she finished. He reached over and Took Hannah's cup, setting it next to his own.

"So…" He started off awkwardly. She just waited to hear what he would say. He slid his goggles down over his eyes as he seemed to be trying to find a place to start. "So, I don't need to know how you got in that to that alley or how you got in this condition. You're free to stay here while you recover. I don't really mind… Kind of nice to have someone around for a change….. So uh anything you want to ask me?"

Hannah blinked. That was very straight to the point. It made sense though. They needed to get this conversation out of the way. The problem was that she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to say. "I uhh, Well I don't have any money. I won't be able to pay you back." She started on that. After all they were getting all the problems and potential problems out of the way.

"That's ok." Matt said, there was understanding in his voice. "I don't really care about money much. Besides, I can always just earn some more."

Well that was one way to look at money, Hannah thought as she returned his smile. His easygoingness was contagious apparently, either that to they just got along very well. "But why would you want to do this for me?" She asked that question as the smile slid off her face. The whole thing just made no sense.

"There isn't really a reason." He answered with a shrug. It was obvious that he wasn't being completely truthful. There was definitely a reason; maybe he just didn't know what it was himself.

She wasn't quite sure yet that Matt was trustworthy. He seemed nice and he hadn't done anything to her yet. But she couldn't afford to let her guard down. It wasn't like she had much of a choice at the moment considering her circumstances. Already she was tired again. Hannah yawned and slowly started to close her eyes before snapping them back open. Matt gave another one of his chuckles at this.

"Sleep all you need. No reason to worry about me I promise." He said as if he could read her mind. He picked up his Ds and flipped it open. So she lay back down again before letting her eyes close all the way. Two seconds later she was out like a light, danger far from her mind.

When she woke up much later, the room was dark. She blinked until her eyes adjusted and she could see again. There was a bit of stiffness so she stretched slightly, being careful to avoid stretching the wound.

There was a tapping coming from the place Matt had occupied so far every time she had seen him. When she looked, expecting to see him hammering the buttons of his DS she was proven wrong by the laptop sitting on his lap. He was tapping away at the keys at a speed that was extremely impressive, unbelievable even.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiosity lighting her voice.

"Working" was the one word answer as he kept on going. Matt's hands were still flying over the keys; he didn't so much as miss a beat. Hannah watched with awe struck eyes.

"How do you do that?"

He gave a small shrug, and then pushed the laptop on to the table. He pulled out a second computer, opened it, and began typing on that one. Hannah sighed and stopped asking questions, though she did continue to watch. It was fascinating how fast he could go at whatever it was he was doing. After a while he closed that laptop as well and looked over at her.

"Hungry?"

Hannah nodded enthusiastically. Matt went to the kitchen and returned with more ramen, and some more water. Apparently he wasn't joking about living off of it. She downed her glass of water and Matt pushed the second, which she had assumed to be his, toward her. She drank a little of that then put it down again while thanking him.

"It's not a problem." He answered his usual grin in place. It seemed to be his default expression.

The next week and a half were pretty much just like that. She slept and whenever she woke up, with the exception of when he was sleeping, Matt was there. He was either playing his DS or working on the laptop. A couple of times she had woken up to gunfire, jumped then discovered the game addict also owned an X-Box and a PS2. He was playing a first person shooter, hence the gunfire.

Very soon after they had met she found out that Matt was a pretty god caretaker. He usually knew when she would need food or water and although it was award for both of them he never complained about having to help her get to the bathroom. A lot of times Hannah felt more like a pet than a guest. It was a little unsettling but at least she had someone who was willing to take care of her in her current condition.

Slowly they became more accustomed to each other's presence and as Hannah began to stay awake longer, they began to hold conversations. The talks were never about anything personal. They chatted, really. Once in a while he would tease her about something first thing in the morning and cause her to be grumpy with him. She still couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone he was missing. The question burned in her mind but the two of them had come to an unspoken agreement not to ask each other about things like that.

However the more she watched him, the more Hannah wanted to know. She was curious about where he had come from. Why was he so addicted to games, how did he get to be able to type so fast? Who was the mystery person that he wanted to be with, were they dead, or just not there? She wondered why he would take in and take care of a perfect stranger.

_**Kinne340: Hello! Sorry that it has been so long. School and work take up a lot of time. I have the next chapter all written up as well so I should be typing that in the next couple of days. Please review I really like to hear what you think about this story ^-^**_


	5. Observations

It wasn't too long before winter fully set in and the first snow was falling. Hannah was getting frustrated with having to stay put. She didn't want to be a burden on Matt. There was also a tiny bit of her that was still a little wary of him. It was slowly lessoning. She was finding that she actually liked him a lot. He was fun to be around and he never complained about her.

As she sat there stuck on his couch, Hannah spent a lot of time watching him go about his day. Matt's day was comprised mostly of technology. That was the first major observation that she made. He would get up and flop down on the chair. Then with a yawn he would open the DS and play for a while. Sometimes he would switch games and other he would turn on the TV and play on a console for a little bit. Sometime after that, Matt would get them both lunches. They would talk as they ate their noodle cups.

Then he would get out one or two of what she assumed to be an army of computers and "Go to work." She really did wonder what he did while he was working but she had yet to get an answer out of him. She also was trying not to bother him while he worked most of the time.

In the evening the gamer would get online and play what he called an MMO, which he explained to her stood for massively multiplayer online game. He helped her sit up then moved over to the couch and let Hannah watch him play. It seemed odd to her but he was having fun so it really didn't matter what she thought.

Somewhere in the midst of times like these, Hannah found herself making more personal observations about the strange person in front of her. They weren't really significant observations or at least to most people they wouldn't seem that way. They did help her get a better grasp on what type of person he was.

For example, she noticed that he always had to have something in his hands. When they were talking, Matt would be playing on his DS at the same time. If he wasn't then he would pull out a pack of cigarettes and smoke until the conversation was over.

She noticed that when he was working he always seemed to be bored. Not bored in the way of someone who was doing something that they didn't like, but bored in a kind of way like the project he was working on wasn't advanced enough to keep his interest. It never took him to long to finish work and get right back to his games.

She also noticed that he rarely left the apartment. When he did he would be gone for a few hours and then be back. Hannah never asked him where he went, though it was obvious a couple of times that he went and bought more ramen. She supposed that she was lucky he happened to be out of his gaming sanctuary the night she had collapsed in that alley. That was unless the reason he wasn't leaving was because of her.

One of her favorite observations she made about Matt was how he tried to hide his emotions. He seemed to be an open enough person but anytime he was flustered or embarrassed, he would slide his goggles down over his eyes. Half the time it almost looked like a subconscious movement. It was actually pretty cute especially because it failed to hide it when he was blushing ever so slightly.

It wasn't long from those trains of thoughts that she began to make observations even more personal than the others. Things like how Matt tended to leave his hair sticking up in odd places if his goggles messed it up. They way his green eyes brightened at the word game or when they argued. How surprisingly strong he must be to so easily lift her off the couch. Then there was that smile of his. So calm and peaceful, a total contrast to his mischievous eyes.

It was times like these, when she found herself getting wrapped up in thoughts of her gamer host like that, she would shake herself out of it. She didn't want to be having those kinds of thoughts about someone she barely knew, even if he was very nice and cute and strong….

Today however, was different. She couldn't stop the thoughts from coming. No matter what she did she found herself dwelling on the details of the game addict. If she kept this up she was going to go insane. There was no way, no way in hell that she was going to let herself go down that path.

Finally in an attempt to distract herself, Hannah decided it was time it was time to attempt standing. She was already sitting and slowly started to put her weight on her legs. It was strange and she took it slowly but eventually she was on her feet. The wound tingled with slight pain and she felt too heavy for herself to carry, but she was standing.

"Aha!" She cried out in joy and triumph, surprisingly actually startling her host in to pausing his game. He looked up the same time she looked over and Hannah was pleased to see the shock in his eyes.

"You're up." He said unnecessarily with a small smile spreading on his face. This made Hannah giggle at him for stating the obvious.

"Really? I hadn't noticed" She giggled again and he grinned at her whole heartedly. Hannah felt herself start to flush so she quickly looked down and was met with the site of her own legs. This just happened to remind her that it had been over a week since she had bathed. Hannah wrinkled her nose in disgust just thinking that.

"Hey Matt…. Can I use your shower?" She felt disgusting now that she realized it. Her hair was beyond greasy she was still caked with dried blood in a couple of places and she smelled….

"Yeah sure." As usual he set down his game. He stood up and stretched a bit before making his way over to the couch. "Do you need help still?" He asked and it was a good thing he did. Hannah took a tentative step and stretched the healing flesh a little too much. She squeaked and Matt steadied her with a soft chuckle. "I guess that answers that then."

"The trip to the bathroom went the same as usual. He helped her get there, supporting her weaker side and sometimes lifting her if she was getting to unsteady. When they got to the point of being right by the tiny shower they both realized something. How was this going to work?

"Umm…" She started to say before matt lifted her up over the small step and set her down on the cool shower surface. He then drew the curtain as she watched with a very confused look on her face until he started to talk.

"Go ahead and throw the shirt over. I'll get you a new one."

She did as she was told, now a very thorough shade of red. It was a good thing the curtain was between them, not that he hadn't seen her in her underwear before…

Once he had the shirt Matt left to throw it in the laundry pile and got out a clean one. When he was back in the bathroom the water was running and a bra and pair of underwear where on the floor. He dropped the shirt on top of them, doing his best to respect her privacy. After all he'd seen them before and on her at that. She had to have felt uncomfortable about that, no use in making matter worse.

A few minuets later, when she was clean, Hannah turned off the water. She shivered and looked around for a towel. Suddenly the object she had sought after landed on her head. Then she had wrestled it out of her eyes so she could use it.

"Hey!' She protested at the sudden appearance of the towel. This only earned her a chuckle from the red head. She stuck her tongue out even though he couldn't see it and continued to dry off. When she was done she lobbed the towel over again, hoping it would land on his head. Seconds later a small bundle of striped cloth was sailing over the top of the curtain and she caught it, barely.

The bundle turned out to be a clean shirt wrapped around her underwear. The blush returned then, full force as she them on over her still damp body. Hannah was actually sad their weird game of catch was over. It had been the most fun she'd had in a long while.

With a sigh she unthinkingly pulled the curtain back and started to step out of the shower. Half way there a sudden pain shot through her side. She stumbled on the little step and pitched toward the ground. Avery surprised Matt almost leapt forward to catch her, luckily succeeding in not letting her hit the floor and crack her head open.

Hannah felt his arms wrap around her and her fall was suddenly halted. They both froze for a moment as her brain caught up with her body and the adrenalin rush calmed a little bit.

"Are you trying to kill yourself!" Matt exclaimed, to at all his normal clam self. He sounded worried which just made her blush more.

"Sorry." Was the only reply she could come up with and she said it weakly. She was absolutely sure she was the exact shade of red as Matt's hair. He let out a relived sigh since she seemed to be ok. He laughed while he moved her so that she was standing again, though his arms were still supporting her.

Hannah was still looking down. This was so humiliating and it wasn't helping any thing at all. It was so hard to regain her bearings while he was looking at her like that, relief mixed with lingering concern. Obviously he was going to be concerned she was his responsibility after all.

_**Kinne340: Hello sorry this took so long again. Sigh. I need to work harder on this but here it is. I should have another chapter up soon, probably a little one in Matt's POV again. Well thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy. Looks like Hannah's trying to be in denial about her little crush on our favorite gamer. She's not very good at it though –laughs- Alright I promise I will try harder from now on. Please review and tell me what you think! **_


	6. Where did that come from?

**Matt's POV**

Matt grinned as he tossed the bundle of clothes over the shower curtain. That game had been oddly entertaining. Maybe he was way too starved for human contact. The curtain moved aside revealing a much cleaner and much happier looking Hannah. She was smiling the biggest he'd seen in the past couple of weeks, which made his own grin widen.

Two seconds later his smile was wiped from his face as she forgot that the step over the shower would hurt her injury. He quickly caught her as she fell, wrapping his arms around her smaller body tightly.

"Are you trying to kill yourself!" The force in his own tone surprised the gamer. Where had that come from? Matt half missed her sheepish reply as he attempted to puzzle that out. He looked down at her and she was blushing. Well it made sense that she would be embarrassed. He straightened her but kept his arms supporting Hannah's weight.

"Come on lets get you sitting again."

She nodded in reply and he helped her back to the couch. Once she was sitting she laid down and promptly pulled the blanket she used at night completely over her, all the way up until it was covering her head. Apparently she didn't handle embarrassment well. It was kind of cute. Matt's smile was back and he shook his head. It certainly had been interesting having her around. She was different than the company he was used to. Sure he watched out for Mello, made him eat when he was on a study binge. But it had always been clear who was in charge between the two of them, and it wasn't Matt.

Hannah was so dependent on him it was scary. Most of it was because of her injury he knew. There was something in those eyes though….. He knew that she watched him, from behind the safety of his goggles he had watched back.

He knew from the start there was a part of her that didn't trust him. It made sense given the fact hat she was attack by…. Someone. The gamer was quite pleased, however, with the progress that had been made. She was still wary but Hannah was warming up to him more and more. Her eyes looked less suspicious and happier when they talked. It was good to see that whoever had done that to her hadn't made her hate people.

It was also good to see she was recovering. He couldn't believe that she could stand already. The red head let out a sigh as he headed for the kitchen. That meant that pretty soon she would be able to leave. Matt wasn't looking forward to her leaving. Having someone else around was a lot better than being alone. He'd gotten used to being around Hannah, used to taking care of her.

He pulled a soda out of the newly stocked fridge. It was just yesterday he's gone out to buy groceries. He really hated leaving the apartment yet at the same time he used to feel trapped and stifled there. Matt made his way back to the living room probably he was just messed up. After all, most of the kids from Wammy's were pretty much just that. When he returned to his chair he looked over at the couch again. She was still buried under the blanket. Well at least she wasn't hurt. On the other hand he needed to figure out a way to fix her clothing situation.

_**Kinne340: Hello sorry it's been so long. Finals kill. So here is a little mini chapter in matt's Point of view. I hope you enjoy this while I work on typing up the next full chapter. Please review and let me know what you think. I enjoy the feed back ^-^**_


	7. What's goign on here?

The next day when Hannah woke up it was dark and quiet. There was no beeping, no flashing, and no gunfire. Slowly she sat up and looked around. There was no one there and she frowned. She'd become accustomed to Matt's daily routine and the fact that there was no gaming going on anywhere that she could see, worried her.

"Matt?" She called out. There was no reply and a wave of fear washed over her. Instantly she pushed it aside. This was ridiculous; he probably just stepped out for a bit or something. Maybe he forgot something he needed from the store.

She lay back down and tried to get some more sleep, however, she wasn't comfortable. Hannah rolled over on her uninjured side but that didn't help. There was a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. He usually told her when he was leaving…..There wasn't anything to. worry about … But what if there was? What if she had been wrong in trusting Matt? It wasn't like she had never been wrong abut a person before, obviously

Time passed as these kinds of thoughts swirled around in Hannah's head. Within a half hour her head was swimming with fear. She was convinced that the truth was about to come and she was going to die, or something.

She cringed when the lock on the door clicked and she curled in a little bit, shrinking down and pulling the blanket up to her nose. It was almost as if she were a small child trying to hide from the monsters under the bed.

The door opened and Matt walked in carrying a bag. He looked over and saw her wide opened eyes then blushed furiously. His eyes were already covered by goggles. Hannah eyed the bag with suspicion as he waved a little sheepishly and walked to the bathroom. A moment later he came back and smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ready for a bathroom break?"

She sat up reluctantly and his brown furrowed though she couldn't tell if it was in annoyance or confusion.

"Are you feeling ok?" He asked and in a surprisingly motherly gesture gesture put his hand to her forehead. Hannah was shocked when she jumped; her nerves were just so fizzy though.

"Doesn't look like you have a fever." He smiled and Hannah let out a held breath. Of course there was nothing to be afraid of, this was Matt. Slowly she stood with an apologetic smile and he helped her to the bathroom. Once she had the door closed he spoke again.

"uhh… the stuff in the bag… it's for you…"

Just from the sound of his voice she could tell he was blushing again. This made her suspicious of the bag yet again. It was sitting in the sink so that she could reach it with out bending over to much.

Hesitantly Hannah peeked in to the bag; it rustled as she moved it. Immediately he eyes were attacked with colors. She reached in and pulled out one of the objects. It turned out to be an overly large black T-shirt. There was also a white one, a black one with dragons on it, and a pink one with flowers. They were all giant and looked like they had cost five dollars at Wal-Mart.

Hannah almost laughed in relief. He had gotten her clothes. It was so sweet and so like him. She now felt even more ashamed that she had been afraid. She reached in again and found two pairs of lose fitting pajama pants one black and one white, apparently he was playing it safe with neutral colors. What then had gotten him so embarrassed? She peered in to the bag and had an immediate answer. Sitting in the bottom were several pairs of underwear. One had little bows on it and one had a flower design but the rest were just plain colors and none were skimpy. He had tried to find the plainest ones he could so she wouldn't think that he was being perverted.

How could she even for a moment have thought that Matt was going to hurt her? She took care of her bathroom needs then stripped all the way. Taking off the old and putting on the new undergarments took time. She had to be careful when she bent so she wouldn't stretch her wound, it was manageable though.

Happily she chose the shirt with the dragons and slipped it on. He hadn't gotten and bras, something she was glad of, so she just left hers off for now, it needed washed anyway. After a moment of thought she chose to hold off on the pajama pants for now. Give it a little time and she would be able to wear pants but for now she didn't need something pressing on her wound. The shirts were longer on her than Matt' had been anyway so it wasn't that uncomfortable to only wear these shirts.

She piled the rest of the clean stuff in to the bag again and picked up the dirty things before opening the door.

"Thank you. Hannah said, her voice filled with earnestness and gratitude.

"It was no problem." He was still red and hurriedly helped her back to the couch. There was a glass of water and a ramen cup on the coffee table already. She happily ate while Matt pulled out his DS and hid behind it.

She almost giggled. He was so embarrassed about getting her underwear. Someone would think that she as the girl in this situation would be the embarrassed one but it was him. Despite his discomfort with the situation he had still done that for her. Hannah smiled and shook her head. She shouldn't have ever doubted him, just because bad things had happened to her didn't mean that everyone she knew would end up hurting her.

_**Kinne340: hello! New chapter up yay! The next one is under work and should be up soon. I hope you all enjoy this. Hopefully soon we will get to something that actually moves the plot along a little bit. In the mean time enjoy this and please tell me what you think of it. I'm sorry it wasn't a very eventful chapter. **_


	8. Almost

"No! Not again!"

Hannah sighed as the game over screen gloated at her. This was getting ridiculous that was the fifth type of game she had tried. Just how many game genres were there? "Not one word." She said to Matt it was obvious that he was trying his best not to laugh.

"I'm sorry but I've never seen anyone who sucks at games as much as you do." He chuckled as she scowled at him but ended up grinning despite herself.

"I will remind you that it was your idea that I should learn to play games."

"True enough" He was done laughing it seemed. "I just thought that you might be getting bored. I mean three weeks on that couch? Can't be fun or comfortable, sorry about that."

"It's fine. I can't believe it still hurts so bad though." Hannah replied. "I wouldn't think a cut would take so long."

He rubbed the back of his head. "It might be my fault. I don't know if I did everything right…. It's not like I have any medical training."

"I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you." She said with a sheepish smile.

"That's right and now you're my slave for life!" He gave an evil laugh "So now you must,… Game for all eternity!"

Hannah laughed at him. "You sure you want to torture your systems like that?" she shook her head with a small giggle. He really was a big goofball. The longer she stayed here the more she was beginning to really like this easygoing strange man. He certainly was a lot different from any other male she had ever known in her lifetime. He didn't even seem to possess a temper. That was something that she was more than grateful for. After her scare over what had turned out to be his good willed attempt to clothe her she had resolved to try to be more trusting of him. She couldn't go around be afraid of her own shadow because of what someone else had done to her. Matt had done nothing to earn her distrust. She hoped that it stayed that way.

"Hang on I think I have something that you can play." He said and got off the couch. Hannah watched him as he opened a closet and the sounds of rummaging ensued. "Ha found it!" He came back out then opened a small box on the coffee table that she had learned contained batteries. Matt handed her an old blue Gameboy color once he had put the batteries in. She looked at the game cartridge in the thing and noticed it was pale ice blue. She turned the Gameboy over again. Even she knew how ancient this thing was in terms of game technology.

"Go ahead turn it on." Matt urged.

She did just that. Soon the logos told her what game she was about to play. "Pokemon?" She asked him incredulously with a raised eyebrow.

He grinned "Don't knock it until you try it. The games are a lot of fun. Plus no hack and slash fighting, shooting or jumping to do."

"That's a point." She admitted reluctantly. Hannah pressed the start button and soon had named her character chosen her gender and set the date. It didn't take long for her to get underway playing Pokemon crystal version. She picked a cute little thing with a leaf on its head called Chikorita. From there she was on a mission to catch more of the little monsters.

She ended up playing for quite a few hours. At some point Matt went back to the closet and pulled out a Gameboy advanced. He had a silver game sticking out of it and started playing as well. It didn't take long until he'd caught up to her even though he had restarted his game. At this point he produced a cable and directed her through the steps to make it so they could battle each other. Of course he kicked her butt thoroughly.

Eventually her eyes were so blurry and tired that she could hardly see straight so she saved the game and yawned. She heard the noise from Matt's chair that meant he had saved as well and she flopped down on the couch, careful not to land on the injured side.

"So it was fun wasn't it?" He asked still grinning.

She nodded with her eyes closed and resting. "It was. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"You should be" he laughed.

It made her smile to listen to his lighthearted voice. "Well good night." She pulled her blanket over herself and was soon in a dream land filled with Pokemon.

…..

That week the temperature dropped dramatically. Matt pulled out more blankets and cranked his heat up. Over all it wasn't that bad of a way to spend the winter. She was comfortable warm and safe. Hannah was starting to wish that she would never fully heal. She knew that once she was better she couldn't stay in that apartment anymore. She couldn't just expect Matt to take her in regardless of whether or not they were friends now.

The temperature continued to drop and then the snow hit. An entire blizzard blanketed the whole city. Schools were closed, plows were out in droves. Every time Matt went out he came back covered in white flakes.

After one trip to the store he came back and his hair looked half white. He threw the groceries in the kitchen and came back in to the living room. She sat up so he could sit next to her on the couch and giggled as he shook his head and snow flew everywhere.

"Everything is completely buried out there." He grumbled and tried to get the snow off of himself. Still giggling Hannah started to help him brush it from his hair. He turned his head and for a moment their faces were only inches apart. He backed up and she turned away blushing like mad.

"Hey Hannah." He said it gently and when she faced him again she could easily see that he was blushing as well. "I've really enjoyed having you around you know." He grinned at her and she returned the smile.

"I've enjoyed being here, except for the painful wound in my side it's been really nice. Thank you, you really did save my life In more ways than one." Hannah turned red again what she had said just then sounded so lame and cheesy. She looked up and saw that his face was close again. Her breath caught in her throat. The red head leaned in a little closer. What was he up to? She took a shaky breath.

And then the lights went off.

_Kinne340: Hello! once again I am so sorry it took so long to update. here is a new chapter though hope it gives you a laugh as well as a little bit of lead in to the next chapter which is laraddy under works. Please leave a review I like to hear what people think._


	9. Cold Feet

_This chapter is in Matt's POV_

Looking at her smiling up at him like that he felt his face flushing.

"I've enjoyed being here, except for the painful wound in my side it's been really nice. Thank you, you really did save my life In more ways than one."

Was this really it? What exactly was it that this girl did to him? Sure he had always liked girls, had his fair share of crushes but this was new to him. Was he falling in love? If so, then why with a girl that was going to be walking out of his life so soon. That thought sent a weird ache through his stomach and chest.

He leaned in, their faces as close as they had been only moments before. Did he really want to do this? Matt heard her take in a shuddering breath and smiled. Maybe he wasn't the only one affected. Well no turning back now he'd come this far after all.

And then the lights went off.

Both of them looked at the lights. Matt sighed. "It figures. The storm was pretty bad when I was out there."

"Wonder how long they'll be out." Hannah wondered out loud. He squinted and shrugged. It was hard to see her, something that she seemed to have noticed as well. "It's so dark."

"Yeah I'll go see if I have some candles or something. " He replied and got up. A few seconds later he cursed softly when he stubbed his toe on the couch.

Eventually they had some candles lit plus a little round battery powered light that Matt found in the closet. He had bought spaghetti o's which unlike ramen they could eat without cooking. So even though the power didn't come on that day, or the next, they were fine.

At least they would have been if it wasn't for the fact that no power also meant no heat. By the end of the first night the apartment was uncomfortably chilly. By the middle of the next day it was freezing. Matt found everything that could possibly be used as a blanket in the apartment and gave most of them to her. It wasn't helping much by that night though. They were both still shivering.

Once Matt tried to go out to get something to help but got to the door that led out of the building he discovered that they were completely snowed in. It must have been some storm to have the whole city blocked in.

He went back up to the apartment and took a look at the bundle on the couch that was Hannah buried under the blankets. When she heard the door shut her head poked out of the pile, hair clinging statically to her as she shivered.

"Back so soon?"

"Never left. Everything's buried." He watched her shiver again. "Get back under there I'll be right back." He told her kindly. The gamer disappeared back in to his room grabbed the blankets still sitting on the bed and brought them out. Her head was still poking out so he grinned and threw them over her including her head.

Hannah Squeaked at started struggling to get out. Matt chuckled at how cute it was. She eventually managed to get out.

"You can't do that you'll get cold."

Wasn't it just like her to say that. The gamer shook his head. "I'm fine it's you who needs the extra care." As if to prove himself wrong his body gave an involuntary shudder to the cold. She raised an eyebrow and he tried to smile to reassure her. "I'm ok really."

She didn't look convinced but obviously knew it was pointless to argue. He got them both some cold spaghetti o's and then pushed her back under the blankets.

Midnight hit and not only was he cold but she was still shivering under the pile of blankets. "How can they not have the fucking power back on?" He grumbled in a bad mood because of his helplessness in this situation. If he had a decent apartment then they wouldn't be nearly so cold. But no he lived in this dump and the cold was seeping in through the cracks or something.

"This is ridiculous." He growled finally having enough of it. Matt stood up and started pulling blankets off of his house guest. Two armfuls and a couple of rushed minutes later Matt returned to find Hannah curled up in a ball on the couch and looking at him with confused eyes.

He scooped her up in his arms not bothering to walk her slowly to the room and carried her in to his room. She blinked rapidly as he set her down on his bed on one side. He went to the other and then pulled the blankets over both of them.

"What are you…." She looked scared and Matt felt instantly ashamed. He should have asked her first but he just couldn't stand there watching her be cold anymore. Not to mention that he was freezing himself. Though under the blankets and with her body heat to add to it his was warming up quickly.

"I won't come any closer I promise." He pulled his goggles up so she could see in his eyes that he meant it.

_Kinne340: And here is where I leave you for now. ^-^ I'm mean I know. Hope you enjoyed it and please review. _


	10. How could this be?

"Don't worry I won't come any closer."

Hannah tried to relax after he said that. After all he was Matt, the person she trusted the most in the world right now. Of course that was helped by the fact that he was the only living person she knew past acquaintances who hadn't tried to kill her…..

She looked him straight in the eye for what she realized was the first time. Before she had always looked slightly to one side or something like that, the other half he had his goggles concealing the green orbs that were looking at her right then. How was it that someone she had known for three weeks was looking at her in a way she couldn't remember happening to her since she was little. In fact could she ever remember a time when someone had looked at her with that much affection in their eyes?

He'd been taking care of her from day one, going out of his way to make sure she had what she needed, to make sure she was comfortable. She had ben starting to doubt her trust of him and he had still put his hand to her forehead, worried about her…..

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him in shock. Her mind was trying to reject the very thing that she was processing. How could she have found it hear of all places? Life just didn't work that way, not in reality. A person didn't almost die and get recued then live happily ever after with friends, love, or a decent life.

What was wrong with him? Why was he looking at her like that? Why didn't he hate her? Why didn't he hurt her?

A drop fell on the hand that had been tucked under her chin. Hannah hadn't even realized that she had started crying until that happened. She watched as his face changed to a worried one. He reached for her then pulled back remembering his promise.

The tears came thicker and faster. She sat up, bringing her face to her hands. She wasn't sure if she was trying to stop the tears or hide them. But he sat up too.

"Hannah…. What's wrong!" There was a note of alarm in his voice. She was upsetting him after everything he had done for her.

"I'm sorry. I just." The talking broke some kind of wall in her mind. She didn't finish her sentence; a large sob cut her off. They wouldn't stop; she knew that he was getting even more worried now. Was she crying out of happiness or sadness? That was something she couldn't even answer herself. She just kept it up until it slowed down enough that she could start to talk again.

It started out as a whisper she was practically mumbling it. Hannah knew her couldn't understand but she kept it up anyway. In between sobs and breathing she managed again and again to repeat it.

Obviously scared out of his mind about this whole thing Matt was trying to figure out what he had done wrong. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, not coming any closer, just trying to shake her out of hysterics.

"Hannah. Hannah." He kept repeating her name and it was just making things worse. She sobbed even harder. Finally the gamer had apparently had enough. Her pulled one of her hands down with one of his and used the other to make her look at him. Hannah froze; the only part of her moving was a trembling lip. She took a deep breath and moved a tiny bit. She turned her whole body to face Matt. Her body shuddered as she took a good look at this unbelievably caring man.

Hannah shifted toward him by an inch. She sniffed as tears started to roll yet again. In a sudden motion she lunged toward him. He caught her regardless of surprise just like when she had fallen in the bathroom. Once she was pressed to him closely she wrapped her arms around him and started to repeat her crying chant. This time though it was clear enough for him to hear.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

It was all that would come out of her mouth. The red headed gamer still looked shocked and worried but he wrapped his arms around her hoping to be comforting. He laid his head on top of hers and tried to soothe her with words of his own, practically crooning soothing nonsense to her.

A half an hour passed before Hannah had reduced herself to a slight shaking and a murmur of thanks every so often. Finally exhausted she went still and quiet. Matt pulled away enough to look at her. He brushed hair out of Hannah's eyes his own still looked worried.

"Now what was all that about?"

"I just.,… thank you."

"Yeah I got that." Matt chuckled. "For what? Are you sure you're ok?"

Hannah nodded to both of his questions. "I'm fine…. I just….." She stopped teetering over the edge. Should she tell him? Once she started there was no going back. Hannah took a large breath to ready herself. She opened her mouth and worked her throat but nothing happened. She took in another breath .

"When I was little my mom hung herself. She was stressed or something I don't know. I hardly remember her " She squeezed her eyes shut and turned out of Matt's hold. "I guess dad thought it was my fault. He would get mad at me. I probably did something to trigger it half the time. He drank a lot because of mom, so he'd get violent."

She wasn't looking at him. She didn't want to see Matt looking at her with pity in his eyes It would send her brain reeling. He was silent, presumably letting her tell her story without interruptions.

"When I was seventeen I met someone. He was sweet and he thought I was pretty. He said he would never let anything bad happen to me. I wanted something good in my life so I believed him. He was four years older than me but I didn't care. I left my father's house to live with him, ran away from home."

She sniffed again. She would regret it for the rest of her life. Not only had it almost cost her, her life but it had cost her father his. "Dad didn't take it very well….." She trailed off and suddenly Mat put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped in surprise but didn't shake it off.

"Things went alright at first. It was a lot of fun I thought I was grown up enough to handle myself anyway. But then they romance of it all wore off. He started getting frustrated with me. I was a horrible cook I wasn't very good at cleaning. If I couldn't do those things right then he was the only one doing any work, since I couldn't get a good job. I tried to work some fast food but he got mad that I was gone all the time."

She stopped again. Now was the bad part, the night that had changed everything. Her hand went to her throat as she remembered or tried to. Most of it was a blur. "He wanted us to sleep together…. I said I wasn't ready. That made him even angrier. So he went out and when he came back he was drunk. " She paused again. "So then I got mad at him I didn't want him we fought he tried to force himself on me I fought back and." She squinted, trying to remember what had happened. " I tried to leave the apartment he chased me. At some point some glass got broken. He caught me." Her hand went back to her neck making it clear what had happened at that point.

"I got away but he grabbed some glass the next thing I remember I was in the street trying to get as far away as possible. I passed out in an alley….. then woke up here….." She realized that she had said the last part without taking a breath. She let out the rest of the air and took in another hurried breath.

"Hannah….." Matt said it quietly, so quietly that she turned to look at him with questioning eyes.

There wasn't any pity there but there was an odd softness to his eyes She felt herself heat up. With him looking at her that way it was a wonder she didn't melt, in fact she didn't even notice the cold anymore. Noticing that she was staring, Hannah quickly looked away.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have dumped that one you." She apologized very quickly. Her blush only got worse as he laughed lightly.

"Hannah look at me."

She shook her head.

"Hannah. Please."

Well he had said please. She turned her head and he was very, very close.

"Can I?" She saw his own face get red and she wasn't quite sure what he wanted but how could anything he wanted be bad? Her brain wasn't functioning but she trusted him completely. Hannah nodded.

Matt put a hand under her chin and tilted her face up. Her breath froze and her eyes slid closed. She could feel her heart beating a million miles an hour. He leaned closer and softly pressed his lips to hers.


	11. After the storm

To Hannah it seemed like that kiss lasted almost an eternity. However, when Matt pulled away gazing into her eyes with his beautiful green one's she felt as if it couldn't have possibly lasted long enough. She pulled him back to her and their lips met again. Hannah's arms wrapped around him in a fierce hug. It was odd how one caring touch could set her blood on fire. She hadn't even realized how icy she'd made herself, how untrusting. It was almost like she was coming back to life.

They parted again. Looking up at him Hannah could see that he was as red as she felt. She looked down feeling herself blush even more. He made her look up at him and he was grinning. She couldn't help but grin back with Matt smiling at her like that.

"Go ahead and get some sleep ok. Maybe the power will be back on in the morning." He pulled the blanket over the two of them forcing her to lay back down at the same time. She sighed somehow feeling so much lighter after everything. She felt empty but not in a bad way, it was more like she had finally set everything down that she had been carrying for so long.

Without waiting for him to do something Hannah scooted close to him again and rested her head on Matt's chest so she could listen to his heartbeat. He ruffled her hair then left his hand resting there comfortable.

The next morning when she woke up Matt was still dozing lightly. She moved her head so she could see his face, he looked comfortable. Hannah smiled and snuggled in to his chest a little more. The red head groaned and opened his eyes blearily.

"Hi." She said a little breathlessly.

Matt's face broke in to a grin. "Hi."

They stared at each other and a comfortable silence settled in between them. After a few minutes he stretched and sat them both up. "You hungry?" Matt asked and when she nodded he grinned and scooped her up once again. The first thing they both noticed was that the heat was obviously back on. That was a relief.

Matt took her to the kitchen and deposited her on a chair. She giggled as he went searching for something that wasn't ramen.

"You know I can walk myself as long as I take it slowly. "

"But this is fun. You should enjoy it while you can." He pulled out some bread and took a look at it. "No mold I think I got it the other day. So you want some toast?"

She shook her head at his forgetfulness. "That sounds good to me."

Within a few minutes they both had about four or so pieces toast. It was nice to eat something besides instant noodles for once. "So when did you decide to start getting other kinds of food?"

"Well…. I was thinking the other day, that since I'm not sure how long you were going to be staying I should probably at least get some bread and stuff like that."

She smiled at him. "Thank you I appreciate that."

"Yeah it's no problem." He replied and then took a bite of his toast. Hannah decided to turn her attention to her own breakfast. It didn't take her long to work her way through the pieces and he took her plate when she was done, depositing both the plates in the sink.

"Hey, Matt… About last night?"

"Yes?" He looked back to her curiously.

"Was that? Well the kissing… was it just because of what was going on last night?"

Matt crossed the room to her. "Why do you want it to be? I made you uncomfortable didn't I?"

He looked worried now and Hannah felt guilt surge through her. "No, no!" She paused. "Just I was afraid that was it. "

He knelt down so that they were pretty much eye level, though she couldn't help but notice that he was still just a tiny bit taller than her. Matt softly reached out and ran his hand through her hair. "Hannah….. I….. I really like you."

She blushed at that. It sounded so innocent the way her worded it. "I like you too." She couldn't help but smile at him seeing as he was grinning what looked like almost uncontrollably after she told him that.

"See nothing to be worried about. Now up you go." She protested as he picked her up again. After that they went through the normal morning routine. Matt seemed determined not to let her walk today, so she just let him. He seemed to be having fun anyway, plus it gave her a good excuse to be close to him. She felt a sense of giddiness that she never had before and it only increased when they were touching. So the more he carried her, the happier she was.

Eventually he went to work on his laptop and Hannah took a nap. After she woke up they played Pokémon together again. At least she didn't die constantly on that one. They battled and he won again but it was ok, she didn't get massacred so she was pretty satisfied with the results.

It wasn't long before night fell and Hannah started to yawn tiredly. Matt chuckled at her then pursed his lips in thought. "Do you want to share the bed again tonight?" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he threw his hands up in a 'I mean no harm gesture.' "Not like that… I mean the couch can't be too comfortable. My bed is big enough for two people and nothing has to happen."

Hannah smiled at him as he rambled what he had really meant. "Yeah that does sound better.

Matt smiled back and the red head picked her up once again and took her to the bed room. He even tucked her in once they had gotten there, before he climbed in himself. Being mindful of her injury she scooted closer to him and rested her head on his chest again. He wrapped his arm around her and tried not to touch the wound. Hannah looked up at him. "Thank you Matt."

"It's no problem. Hey, I was thinking. If you wanted to, you could stay here. I mean even after you get better, you could move in."

_Kinne340: I am so sorry that it has been so long since the last chapter! School started and linguistics class has been killing my brain XD I hope you enjoyed this please review I like to hear what people think of my work. I will start the next chapter soon but it may take me a little bit again. I will eventually update though I promise. _


	12. That certain someone

**This chapter is in Matt's POV. **

The next day when Matt woke up around his usual time, Hannah was still cuddled next to him sound asleep. The red head smiled and stretched one of his arms out. The day before yesterday he wouldn't have ever thought that he would be waking up lying next to a cute girl. The fact that the cute girl was also his girlfriend just made it even better and harder to believe.

He turned slightly and draped his arms over her. Hannah snuggled in to his warmth and went on sleeping. It was actually the best he'd seen her sleep since he'd met her. Usually she would whimper and writhe one time she'd even started to toss around on the couch. That had ended abruptly when she'd hit her cut.

Matt sighed, thinking about that. Now he knew how she'd gotten hurt and he almost whished he didn't. It made him angry just thinking about someone doing that to her and thinking that she had been putting up with that kind of thing for the majority of her life… It was no wonder she'd been so mistrustful of him for so long, and yet she had always been nice to him regardless of thinking that he was probably going to hurt her…

Was it going to be strange being in a relationship? Mentally he shrugged that thought away. After all it was great so far so why should he worry. It was about time he did something besides game, hack, and wait for a certain someone to call. It had been five years after all. So maybe he just wasn't going to call.

That fact shouldn't have been that upsetting but then again who wouldn't be upset by being abandoned by their best friend? Leaving without saying anything, that he could take. He was ok with that, Matt had figured that eventually Mello would need him for something. He thought that Mello would have called demanding that he get his butt to wherever it was Mello was at that moment and then everything would be fixed. But no, five years had gone by and still no word from his former roommate.

Hannah stirred next to him and after a moment her eyes fluttered open. She smiled at him until she got a better look at his face and then quickly sat up. Matt did so as well, still feeling gloomy because of his thoughts.

"Are you ok?" She asked her face looked worried so he made himself smile.

"Yeah I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

He reached out and ruffled her hair. "I'm ok really."

She didn't look convinced but didn't ask again. She did however carefully maneuver herself so she was on her knees. He was confused about what she was doing until she kissed his cheek. She hadn't been able to reach him before. This made Matt laugh and he wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer. That also meant that he could feel her blushing.

_Kinne340: Hello sorry that once again it has been so long. School is out for winter break so I will update a few times at least. Next semester shouldn't be so busy. So thank you to any of you who read this chapter after no updates for so long! Also please review! _


	13. Pancakes and doubts

It had been a week since Matt and Hannah had officially gotten together. The two of them had been happily enjoying the new relationship and really there hadn't been much thought of anything else. The dark clouds were temporarily banished from Hannah's mind. Matt was the nicest person that she had ever met plus she hadn't ever had this feeling before. Her stomach fluttered when he smiled and did flips when they touched. How could she have ever thought that she was in love with her first boyfriend.

Also over the course of the week she worked on walking. Her wound wasn't as sensitive now so she could make short trips. Her finest achievement of the week came when she could make her routine bathroom trip all by herself. Matt now had specific towels and other bathroom necessities just for her. It made her happy that she was starting to settle in at her new home but at the same time she still felt bad. Matt was spending money on her and she was taking up his time as well. He was still making her meals and helping her when she needed it. There wasn't anything that she was doing for him….. it was thinking like this that gave Hannah her bright idea.

The night before she made sure to go to bed early enough so that at six in the morning when Matt was still lightly snoring next to her she got up and got dressed in her oversized shirt and sweat pants. It didn't take long for her to find the two twenty dollar bills that had been in her jeans pocket when he'd found her.

Being careful not to hurt herself as she went along, Hannah snuck out the door and down on to the unfamiliar street below. She took a deep breath of the cold fresh air. It was hard to believe it had been so long since she had been out. The wind felt nice as it slapped her face.

Now came the tricky part. Hannah started in a random direction hoping that she would find a store of some sort. She was always sure to remember which direction she came from it would be horrible if she was unable to find her way back to Matt's apartment. She wondered briefly if Matt would even look for her or just assume she left? Maybe she should have left him a note in case he got up before she was back. Oh well there was no use in worrying about it now…

Eventually she did manage to find a store. Hannah entered it with relief and immediately tried to navigate her way to the section she wanted. Luckily that took much less time than finding the store in general.

Once she had made her purchases and left the store she had a moment of horror where she thought that she wouldn't be able to find her way back to Matt's place. After a few seconds of looking at signs she realized that she knew which way to go and let go of her fear for the time being. With a brisk walk she was back to the building in no time. It only took her a few moments to recall the floor and apartment numbers and then she was back in the familiar place. As luck would have it Matt was not yet awake.

When he did wake up a while later he came in the kitchen with a confused look on his face and didn't try to hide it when he sniffed at the air. He smiled broadly, "It smells good."

"That's good, Morning." She replied feeling herself go red when he turned the smile on her. "I really hope you don't mind me using the kitchen. "

"Of course not ." The gamer replied with a shake of his head. He looked at what she was making. "Did we even have the stuff to make pancakes?"

"Well no." Hannah drew in a breath. "I went and got some. I figured it was about time I did something besides laying around and playing games."

Matt frowned. "That was all of your money."

"I know. But I wanted to do something nice for you after everything you've done for me." She turned to him and smiled. "You really are great you know that?"

He laughed and ruffled her hair leaning down to give her a small kiss that left her blushing again. "I guess I can't say no if you really wanted to do it, plus you know the fact that the pancakes are already almost done."

They both had a small laugh about that and when the pancakes were done they settled down at the small kitchen table instead of in the living room for the first time.

"So you found your way to the store? And your injury didn't bother you?' Matt asked hoping she hadn't hurt herself doing this.

"No it's fine I went slowly so I wouldn't do that. Probably time to change the bandages though." She sighed. They had changed them a few times since she had been there and it was an ordeal she didn't like, though it would probably hurt a lot less now.

"I'm glad you're doing better."

"hey I was thinking."

Hannah looked up at her boyfriend with questioning eyes since he had stopped in the middle of his sentence. "Yes?'

"We should… I mean if you want to, maybe, go on a date?"

She was shocked. Not that she hadn't thought about going out on a date with Matt, after all he was her boyfriend now, but him asking out of the blue like that caught her by surprise. Hannah couldn't help but grin at the idea feeling a little sheepish. "I'd like that a lot. Did you have anywhere in mind?"

"I don't know. I haven't dated before." He replied thoughtfully. "I guess we could go to a movie or something."

So a shopping trip and two days later, Hannah found herself in Matt's car as they made their way to the movie theatre. She felt jittery as she looked out the window at their surroundings then back at Matt. He was in his normal striped shirt and vest, the look really worked for him. She never would have guessed what a nerd he was by looking, not that being a nerd was a bad thing. She was in slightly frilly pink skirt and al lighter pink blouse. He had taken her to a store so she could pick out some more clothes for herself. He had really seemed to like this outfit so she had picked it out especially for this date.

Hannah felt bad spending his money but for now they had come to an arrangement. Until she was well enough to look or a job she was going to does a lot of the house work as long as it didn't hurt her injury. It had taken her a long time to get him to agree to it. He said she didn't have to do that but she wanted to be pulling her own weight in this relationship. She wanted to take care of him too, after all wasn't that what relationships were supposed to be like?

The car stopped and she lost track of herself, before she knew it they were in the theatre and the previews were starting. The movie itself was good, at least she was pretty sure it was. It was hard to tell because towards the end Matt took ahold of her hand and the rest of the details on the screen were a bit fuzzy.

She had never really thought about it but her previous boyfriend had never actually taken her out on a date. She pondered this as they drove after the movie. Was it really possible that her life was taking a turn for the better?

"Hey do you mind if we make another stop?"

She looked over at him. Since his goggles weren't down she could see that his green eyes had lit up. So with curiosity getting the better of her she nodded permission for the stop and followed him out of the car and to a little store.

It turned out to be a game store. Not a big chain like GameStop but a tiny one of a kind type of thing. It had a lot of games and machines that she was pretty sure were ancient as far as technology went but Matt seemed to be more than happy to look at the older things. Hannah left him to it and browsed a little bit. She was getting a few confused looks. The small dark store had few customers in it and most of them were men. In her frilly pink skirt she was really standing out. Trying to ignore that she looked at some old Pokémon games wondering what the difference between the Crystal version she had been playing, and yellow version was.

Eventually she got very bored and went to go see if Matt was ready to leave or not. She found him deep in discussion with a girl he had met in the store. They were comparing games, she could tell that much but she couldn't really follow them. She just didn't know that much about games to be able to tell what was going on.

Feeling a little deflated she continued to approach. Matt smile when he noticed her, though it did take a while. "Hey all ready to get going? I bet I've kept you waiting huh? Sorry." He reached out to ruffle her hair but stopped remembering that she was dressed up for their date. He gave the gamer girl a small wave and took Hannah's hand again to lead her out. She temporarily lost her doubts as that fuzzy feeling returned but it ended when they were in the car and his hands were on the wheel. She deflated again, he had looked so happy talking to that girl.

"Do you want to play Pokémon when we get home?" Hannah asked quietly. When she looked over at him he was giving her that laid back grin that she thought was so adorable.

"Yeah sounds like fun. I'll order some pizza and we'll have a game night.

"K, sounds good." She still didn't feel so sure of herself. What if she and Matt were too different to work? What if he got tired of her and kicked her out? She knew he wouldn't hurt her he was just to gentle to do that, but it didn't mean they would end up staying together.

The thought gave Hannah a sick feeling in her stomach. She really liked Matt and she didn't want to think of the possibility of losing him so soon. Her thoughts kept her preoccupied all through their gaming session. Eventually Matt turned both of their systems off and picked her up. Having already changed in to sweat pants and a T shirt when they got home, Hannah was ready for bed. She protested that she could walk herself but he ignored her and set her gently on the bed before climbing in next to her and lifting his arm inviting her to cuddle next to him.

"Is something bothering you?" He asked as she did as he wanted her to.

"No, I'm ok" She hated lying to him.

Matt sighed. "Alright you can tell me when you want to talk about it."

With that said he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. He was asleep within a few minutes. It made her jealous to watch him sleep so peacefully, her doubts wouldn't leave her alone. Somehow she found peace of mind enough to sleep early in the morning.

_Kinne340: I am sorry that it has been so long. This chapter is mostly fluff but I promise that it is sort of plot too XD Their relationship needed development but bigger plot is coming I promise. School is almost over so more time to update plus I have finally re-found my inspiration for this story. I will try to get the next two chapters up soon There will be more plot then it will be time for Matt's thoughts since they come around every three chapters. I really hope you enjoy reading this and please leave a review it is very helpful. Thank you._


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